I'm thinking of doing a sort of RFC-esque IOT. There would be few players at the beginning, but gradually more and more. I'd make it balanced, though. Thoughts?
Good idea! I'm not TOTALLY sure how you'd do it, but stability would have to be tied in somehow. Here's my thoughts:
1. Any number of players can sign up, but only like five will actually get placed in the game at the start.
2. Whenever a new nation spawns, the next person would be PMed.
Not sure how you would determine WHEN this happens, if you felt like making them historical, you could base it off real life (Starting off with just India, China, Egypt, Sumeria, and Babylon) and then just add them as they come in real life (I'd think start in 4,000 BC and do 500 years per turn, so Greece would spawn after like 4-5 turns, Persia like two more after that, and then it would really pick up speed.
I'd probably allow the earlier players who die to respawn at least once. Not right off the bat, but eventually. This is simply because, if you are Babylon, the deck is stacked against you. Persia is going to eat you alive. There is a CHANCE of this not happening, but it probably would.
Do UHCs, but don't make everyone else LOSE once someone completes them. Make that player win, but they can still play if they like. Then, at the end (Say, modern era) Everyone who completes their goals wins, everybody else kinda looses, and anyone who dies twice really loses (If you die early on, you should automatically get a spot on the bottom of the list of people who are waiting, but only for ancient/classical civs. If you die as England, you don't get another chance because history is against you.)
3. Be CAREFUL how you play history. History is a (Swearword) they often say, but we can't make it too much of one. There must be a chance, however unlikely, for Babylon to live until the 20th century, however, it should not be likely.
4. Nations WILL spawn. If Babylon expands into Iran, some of their land will flip when Persia comes along. If Persia goes into Arabia, their land WILL flip when Arabia comes. The way for Babylon to beat Persia is to beat them, not just by expanding into Iran too quick.
5. Incorporate historical boundaries into it. If you expand into areas you actually went, your stability should be affected less.
6 (Unique Suggestion) While collapsing in the old days would probably just lead to you keeping a few territories and a few declaring independence, it should be more interesting then that in the modern era. Think of the tribal wars in Somalia. It should be sort of like that, with groups fighting themselves for power. Also, in the modern era, you should be able to go into underground resistance if conquered.
I could probably add more, but I'll start with that
